PCN letters not recieved

2021hindsight

Hi, great site, first post. We have an issue which I havent come across so far after various searches. We are defending a court citation from a private comapny involving multiple contraventions. The driver was wholly unaware that the area parked in was private due to inadequate signage. The problem we have is that this court thing came totally out of the blue... according to the companys lawyers we should have recieved hundreds of letters and we have no idea where they are...there was an issue surrounding residence of the RK, but its a moot point because they still had limited access to the address and subsequent letters from the solicitors should have come to the RKs present address due to a mail redirect. The upshot, is that we are totally on the back foot and are utterly perplexed by this whole thing. We spoke to the companys legal representtive who stated that none of their mail is sent recorded delivery. It is like a bad dream? Where are these letters, I have my own theory, but its probably best kept to myself.

The_Deep

You can ask the PPC to send you everything they hold, it is called a Subject Access Request. Have you not read the stickies?

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.[/FONT][/FONT]

2021hindsight

Hi, thank you for your reply. Yes, I have read stickies relating to SAR and will be actioning that. We have been sent a 'sample set' of photos and letters that the company has and they are being awkward relating to the rest...the photos are dubious to say the least and look like they were taken on a mobile or a cheap digital camera...but the letters, how do these companies do their mailshots. Is it feasible that these letters were never sent or were misdirected?

Redx

their practices are a minefield and a mystery to us all and nobody can tell you what they are or why things seem to go missing regularly

all you can do is email the SAR to their DPO and get all your data under GDPR , which is the new DPA, SO they should provide ALL of the following

PHOTOS
DOCUMENTS (including "mailshots"
PDT data etc about your vehicle

its only YOUR DATA they are obliged to provide under the EU law of GDPR , so not signage photos or contracts with other parties , SO YOU INSIST ON ALL YOUR OWN DATA

your choice of some words like citation and mailshots seems to indicate North America education, whereas we wouldnt use words like that

in which case, you need to understand our processes of law etc, not the USA versions

we dont normally see anything sent by "recorded delivery" , in fact there has been no "recorded delivery" option by royal mail for over a decade, there are 2 systems apart from the first class mail (which is deemed delivered 2 days later) and this is the usual delivery method not these 2 below

SIGNED FOR (some postied will sign these with a squiggle and post it through the letetrbox)

SPECIAL DELIVERY (the old recorded , posties wont normally sign these or deliver if unsigned)

KeithP

Tell us more about 'this court thing'.

Have you perhaps received a County Court Claim Form?

If so, please tell is the Issue Date on it.

waamo

Is this in Scotland?

2021hindsight

Did I point out that all of this is taking place in Scotland? The issue date was early December. We have put in the intention to defend and have to get our defence in by next Tuesday. We have no representation for various reasons, some of them incredulous, but money is also a factor. So we are in a condition of rage, mixed with fear and panic. The sum involved is...significant!

This site has been invauable in giving us information but one other point...on the subject of the defence of the claim, we are not going to have access to their photos etc so cant refer to any other than the 'sample set'...it says on the writ timetable that defence has to be submitted by a certain date and then the next line says "...last date for making adjustments to Writs or Defences"...which is mid March...does that mean that we can amend the defence if supported by additional material obtained from the parking company?

Redx

as Waamo suspect, this is in Scotland where different legal processes apply , but no you did not mention it

you seem to be talking about the simple procedures system via the sherriff for small claims court, different from out england and wales system

on the other hand , I think your defence must allow for additional info at that later stage , like ours does down here

we would put in an initial defence to account for the missing factors and then put those into the WS + eXHIBITS + COSTS SCHEDULE STAGE nearer the court date (we cannot amend a defence later on without considerable expense , so I suspect scotland is the same)

SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU MUST DO THE SAME, BUT WE HAVE VERY LITTLE INFO ON SCOTTISH COURT CASES

this is not a legal forum , its a consumer rights forum , and is about parking cases , not court cases or legal cases per se

the sum involved may also change matters somewhat , like it does down here

and in scotland , claims are statute barred after 5 years


which parking company is it ?

2021hindsight

Yes, its a life changing amount of money, and they do do things differently up here. I'll continue to search for info via this and Legal Beagles, put together a coherent defence and see what happens. Thanks to all for your help.

waamo

No keeper liability is in play here then. Have you told them who was driving?

2021hindsight

No, no liability has been assumed. Its a definite line of defence, but my worry is that a sheriff might say that there was a 'probablity' that the keeper was driving.